North Wales Crusaders coach Anthony Murray is demanding more from his side ahead of Sunday's home clash with Newcastle Thunder.

The Wrexham club have won just one of their five League One fixtures this term, but head into the weekend buoyed by a solid display at Doncaster last time out.

Murray's side proved stern opposition for the league leaders as Jordan Case's try put them 8-5 ahead at the interval before a second half fightback from the Dons.

And while Murray was pleased with his side's display, he insists that improvements are required in the fixtures ahead.

He said: “I’ve got to give massive praise to our players, they stuck with it against Doncaster and did everything they were asked to do – in the end we just came unstuck because of our own errors.

“We did nothing but work on our attacking shapes leading into that game and I’m really happy with how it went but we just need to execute that final play.

“It’s put a massive marker down, but as much as I’ll enjoy that performance we still lost, so we’ve got to get smarter and quickly if we want to start picking up points.

"Just because we performed well doesn't mean we can live off that and not think about where we can improve ourselves.

“We’ve got a tough run of games, but we need to kick on now, and I’ve said to the players that we’ve set our standard now and we need to match that each week and perhaps find an extra 10 per cent on top.

“If we find that extra 10 per cent then quite possibly we can get something out of the next couple of games.”

An improving Newcastle side have collected two wins already this term and are out to replicate last season's top eight finish.

The north east club are blessed with several talented home-grown players, with full-back Lewis Young chief among them.

Last season's Championship and League One Young Player Of The Season, Young's blend of defensive solidity and pace in attack has set him apart.

Murray has been impressed by the Thunder's progression on and off the field in recent seasons and feels Sunday's game could 'go either way'.

He said: "I'm expecting a tough game because Newcastle have out together a really strong team this season.

"They are much improved and Jason Payne has done a really good job with them and got them into the top eight last year – something which they’ll want to achieve again this season.

“It’s a game that could go either way, but we’ve just got to look after ourselves and smarten up on a few areas out of our game.

“There’s lots to play for, but I’ll be taking each game as it comes."